6 drastic changes we could see the Cardinals make in 2024 if it's another disaster

Drastic Change #5 - John Mozeliak's succession plan accelerated

John Mozeliak confirmed again this weekend that the plan currently is to step away from his role following the 2025 season, and that a succession plan would be worked on between now and then.

Because of the drastic decisions that are being made in this scenario, it would only make sense to accelerate that timeline, or at least allow the next president of baseball operations to have a significant say in franchise-altering moves that would be happening during this teardown. The deadline decisions would likely be handled by John Mozeliak and the current structure of things, but by the time the offseason rolls around, the next guy would need to be calling the shots as well to shape their future roster.

Chaim Bloom has been the name to watch ever since the Cardinals made it official that he is coming on in an advisor role this offseason. Mozeliak did not give cadence to Bloom being the next guy at Winter Warm-Up, but both he and DeWitt Jr. thought highly of Bloom and both of them wanted him to be a part of this front office group. In the words of Mozeliak, it "at the very least it strengthens our bench".

Bloom was a major part of the Rays' success with player development during the 2010s, an organization that continues to find ways to win even with a very limited payroll and has especially found success when it comes to pitching development. Bloom then took on the role of the Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox but was let go after a disappointing tenure with the club. Bloom did have an ALCS appearance with Boston and built their farm system into one of the best in baseball before he was let go.

Outside of Bloom, guys like Michael Girsch and Randy Flores stand out as potential replacements for Mozeliak, and each brings their own share of qualifications. Girsch is regarded highly around baseball and has been sought after for high-ranking roles with other clubs. Flores is a rising name in the industry and has done an excellent job as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting.

Even if things go well in 2024, shifts would begin to happen at the end of the year, but if things go poorly, I think all of that will be accelerated and made public before they originally intended.